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Over at Millennial, Robert Christian suggests themes for the pope's address to Congress. I would be delighted if the Holy Father focused on the "throwaway culture" and, with Christian, agree that the issue cuts against the grain of both parties, which is important for a prelate speaking in a political forum. But, me thinks the unifying theme of all of his talks will be the family.

If the dissent registered by Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia is correct, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to pronounce same-sex marriage a constitutional right later this year. The dissent was issued against a majority decision to let stand a lower court order permitting same-sex marriage in Alabama. And, that is where things get interesting.

Now we know: the Pope is not infallible, Cardinal Burke is. In an interview, he says he will resist the pope is the synod develops the Church's doctrine on the divorced and remarried. I am beginning to feel about +Burke the way he once felt about the LCWR: "If it can't be reformed, then it doesn't have a right to continue."

This weekend, the annual Social Ministry Gathering, sponsored by the USCCB, began here in Washington. From dioceses and parishes across the country, people who work for the Church gather in Washington for a series of plenary talks and small group discussions about various issues they face. Like all such conferences, there are the coffee stands, the pre-plated lunches and dinners served in large hotel ballrooms, the people outside the rooms talking on their cell phones, the recognizing of old friends and making of new ones in the hallways.

George Weigel is at it again, criticizing the pope without criticizing the pope. In his latest article, he warns against the Vatican's outreach to Cuba and China. Cardinal Casaroli died in 1998, so Weigel is not attacking him. This criticism is aimed at Pope Francis and Cardinal Parolin.

President Obama’s remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday, and the reactions to those remarks, illustrate why yesterday’s breakfast should be the last. No one goes for the breakfast – and I like a good breakfast – and no one really goes for the prayer. The event is a weird tribute to civic religion, in which no one believes, and presidents did fine without it for 160 years.

Yesterday, my colleague Dan Morris-Young reported on additions to the official handbook for the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The additions are part of the effort by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to address the issue of the Catholic identity of the local Catholic schools.

At Millennial, which remains one of the best reads on the Catholic blogosphere, Robert Christian on whether or not Hillary Clinton can handle the populist left and why she should start swimming in those waters, at least when it comes to domestic policy.

President Obama’s new budget proposal epitomizes the central conundrum in evaluating the man and his presidency: A man who is such a gifted politician at election time, who has said repeatedly that he believes “good policy is good politics” seems incapable of putting forth policies that are capable of galvanizing public support. A mish-mash of proposals, all with a huge price tag, and not a single compelling argument for the whole.